by Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic

The moment of truth for retailers arrives minutes before when they open their doors to massive, sometimes-unruly crowds of shoppers who have been waiting in line for hours or even days.

Retailers planning for the kickoff of the holiday shopping season focus on security almost as much as the deals they offer.

Hoping to avoid ugly confrontations, they have beefed up security for Thursday night and Friday and plan tactics ranging from increased police presence to strategically placed merchandise to keep crowds under control.

Last year, Arizona attracted national attention on Black Friday when a grandfather caught in a Walmart melee was knocked unconscious by Buckeye, Ariz., police trying to control a mob of shoppers snatching up discounted video games.

Crowd-control issues in other states also have led to injuries and, in one case, death, in the past five years.

Although most shoppers make it through without injury, except perhaps to their pocketbooks, the crowds and excitement can be daunting.

"It's too rough out there," Heather Kerr said on the Facebook page for The Arizona Republic, mentioning that she has shopped on Black Friday in the past. "I will never do that again. It was difficult to even get from one area to another. I feel sorry for people that feel the need to go out there for a good deal on a gift when they could be spending the holidays with their families."

Many shoppers report pushing and shoving and tussles over merchandise.

"Some places attempt to make it safe and have varying successes," Ruben Fernandez said on the Facebook page. "Some of the big box stores are unsafe regardless of effort. People attempt to cut and shove their ways in when the door opens."

"The safety of our customers and associates is always a top priority for us," said Delia Garcia, media director for Walmart. "We try to make it so it is not just a free-for-all."

Walmart security

Walmart officials know they need to make shoppers feel secure.

"Nobody wants to go into an event when they are risking injury for a video game," said Josh Phair, a Walmart public-affairs and government-relations director.

The company has consulted with crowd-management experts to set up Black Friday security plans for its 4,000 stores.

A key strategy will be to disperse crowds by spreading the hottest items around the store. Instead of closing the stores on Thanksgiving and reopening to massive crowds, the company now keeps its stores open, when local ordinance allows, to prevent door-busting.

"Our customers are much more comfortable now," Phair said. "People used to line up at the door and elbow in. Those days for us are over."

Once inside, customers find the hot-ticket items stacked on sealed pallets. They go on sale at set times.

Electronics, which have been known to cause the roughest rumbles, will be sold to customers who line up between 10 and 11 p.m. Customers will get a ticket for the item that guarantees the discounted price.

Retailer strategies

Other retailers use a variety of tactics, ranging from in-store asset-protection workers to hiring off-duty police officers to help manage crowds.

Managers at malls and retailers have been meeting this week to make last-minute preparations for Black Friday and to train workers on how to defuse dangerous situations and avoid safety issues, officials said.

"The safety of our shoppers is our top priority," said Neal Kleinman, vice president of property management for Macerich., which owns and operates malls in the western United States.

Many will open at midnight Friday. Like Walmart, the properties try to dissipate crowds and may even let people trickle in to the property early to avoid stampedes.

Also, like Walmart, they rely heavily on an increased police presence.

"We work with reinforcements from our local police departments," Kleinman said. "They can respond to situations where shoppers need assistance."

Off-duty police

Many police departments make their officers available for hire for off-duty work if they are not already scheduled to work a given shift, and Black Friday creates a bonanza of opportunity.

The Tempe, Ariz., Police Department has seen about double the number of requests from retailers for officers to work Thursday, reflecting the trend for stores to open on Thanksgiving rather than on Friday.

The off-duty officers hired by retailers are paid for by the stores, so taxpayers are not paying for the increased security, Tempe police Lt. Mike Horn said. The officers work in their regular uniforms and are patched into the same radio-dispatch system to coordinate with other officers, if needed.

Police spokesmen also said the increased presence at retail stores during the holiday does not pull away resources from drunk-driving patrols, which a different group of officers usually handle.